Storage Unit Weapons Cache

Self-storage customers at the Extra Space Storage facility in Fontana, CA were surprised to discover that they were sharing the premises with a convicted weapons dealer.

Steven Charles Durant was convicted in federal court in South Dakota in 1991 on charges related to unlawful possession and transfer of automatic weapons. He was sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison but escaped from a prison program in 1997 and went on the run for 16 years.

Last week Fontana police responded to a call of a suspicious person and vehicle and found Durant transferring weapons between his storage units and a U-Haul truck. He was immediately arrested and now faces multiple charges of possession of illegal firearms and explosive devices.

Officers seized more than 300 firearms including AK-47s, military-grade machine guns, spare parts to make illegal weapons and more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition.

Chief Rod Jones of Fontana Police said “In 34 years I don’t think I have ever seen a seizure such as this”.

Regular readers will know that self-storage unit fires are not uncommon and if you have ever wondered why firefighters proceed with extra caution in storage facilities these two units full of ammunition are one of the reasons.